What Are These Hyperloop One Passenger Capsules That BMW’s Manufactured?

Designworks, a BMW company, has come together with Virgin Hyperloop One and the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai to unveil the prototype of what will be, stylish new passenger capsules to be launched in the Emirate in 2021. This is the world’s first physical, full-scale Hyperloop prototype to be made public. By Shikha Pushpan

The Master Plan:Some futuristic travel capsules designed by BMW will be launched in Dubai in 2021 to carry passengers through a vacuum tube at above 1,000km/hour. They will seat 10 passengers each, and offer ample personal space to include features like personalised mood lighting and entertainment systems, and built-in heating and cooling systems. It will also incorporate traditional Arabic patterns into the design, and divide the seating arrangement into two compartments with the help of a slider.

The superfast transport system will zip passengers between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, cutting down the travel time from 1.5 hours to 12 minutes. Because of Hyperloop One’s high speeds, passengers must stay seated and buckled at all times.

Dubai will be the world’s second city to get the futuristic transport system, the first being Mumbai as per an agreement signed between the Los Angeles-based Virgin Hyperloop One and the Maharashtra government earlier this year. At the time of the launch, Richard Branson, Chairman, stated that it would take the project three years to complete the test run and roughly 7 years to begin commercial operations. The speed limit on the Mumbai-Pune route will be limited to roughly 350 km/hr, which will be raised to about 600 kmph in time. The company is also in talks with the Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka state governments to add projects in India.

Virgin Hyperloop One currently has feasibility studies underway in a number of locations including the US, UAE, and several countries in Europe. It plans to have three working Hyperloop systems by 2021.